Enhancing the provision of multimedia services using content caching schemes

Current computer networks are challenged by the overwhelming multiplication of available content and the increasing requirements of the content delivery applications. Content caching is already playing its role in content delivery solutions. In this paper we identify the parameters and conditions that affect the performance of content caching solutions and the quality of the related multimedia services. We evaluate the performance of caching solutions under varying external conditions based on typical service provision (user requests, content features and network conditions awareness). We also make proposals, based on simulation results, for the identification of multimedia data object and the exploitation of the network awareness, in order to pave the way for enhanced caching capabilities and service provision.